Optimized Three-Body Gravity Assists and Manifold Transfers in End-to-End Lunar Mission Design

We describe a modular optimization framework for GTO-to-moon mission design using the planar circular restricted three-body problem (PCR3BP) model .The three-body resonant gravity assists and invariant manifolds in the planar restricted three-body problem are used as basic building blocks of this mission design. The mission is optimized by appropriately timed deltaVs, which are obtained by a shooting method and a Gauss-Pseudospectral collocation method for different phases of the mission. Depending upon the initial and final orbits, the optimized missions consume between 10-15 % less fuel compared to a Hohmann transfer, while taking around 4 to 5 months of travel time. AAS/AIAA Space Flight Mechanics Meeting This work may not be copied or reproduced in whole or in part for any commercial purpose. Permission to copy in whole or in part without payment of fee is granted for nonprofit educational and research purposes provided that all such whole or partial copies include the following: a notice that such copying is by permission of Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, Inc.; an acknowledgment of the authors and individual contributions to the work; and all applicable portions of the copyright notice. Copying, reproduction, or republishing for any other purpose shall require a license with payment of fee to Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, Inc. All rights reserved. Copyright c ©Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, Inc., 2012 201 Broadway, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139